Tigers claw into second place

Towson’s gymnastics team finished in second place at the University of New Hampshire Quad Meet Sunday with a season-best score of 194.575, and achieved season-high scores on the floor exercise, uneven bars and balance beams.
“We wanted to warm up the way we wanted to compete because last weekend at Michigan State, we did not have a very good warm up at all,” Head Coach Vicki Chliszyzck said. “So our goal was to have a great warm up and the girls absolutely did that.”

Towson started the meet on the uneven bars, scoring a total of 48.675. Sophomore Tyra McKellar received a score of 9.875, putting her in second-place. Sophomore Noelle Harada finished in a tie for 10th-place with a score of 9.775.

“We started on bars, and they did a good job,” Chliszyzck said. “The first five went up and did some really nice routines and that started everyone off on the right foot.”

In the second rotation, Towson earned a 49.000 on the balance beam. Freshman Mary Elle Arduino earned her career-best of a 9.875 to earn a fourth place finish. Sophomore Gabby Yarrusi tied for second place with a score of 9.990 and became the 10th gymnast in school history to earn at least a 9.900 for the balance beam.

McKellar placed 8th with a 9.775 and Sophomore Lauren Cahalan finished in 9th place with a score of 9.750.

Later in the meet, the Tigers earned a 48.650 on the Floor Exercise. Freshman Cortni Baker tied for fifth-place with a score of 9.800, and freshman Aysia Sharif tied for seventh-place with a 9.775.

In the last event, Towson scored a 48.250 on vault. McKellar and Arduino tied for fifth-place with matching scores of 9.675, while Baker and Sharif tied for eighth with a score of 9.650.

Towson’s next meet will be on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at SECU Arena. This will be Towson’s first regular season home meet of the year after Blizzard Jonas canceled its originally scheduled meet against North Carolina, West Chester and Southern Connecticut.

This meet is also the Tigers’ Shelli Calloway Invitational, which is the annual alumni meet in the SECU Arena.

“It’s a very quick turnaround for the girls,” Chliszyzck said. “We only have Tuesday and Wednesday to practice and it’s the first meet were going to have on a Friday after being in class all day. So it’s a good opportunity for them to practice some of that mental toughness that we’re going to need as we continue on in the season and conference championship and hopefully post-season.”